Written questions by Shannon.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help de-escalate violence against Christians in Nigeria.

The UK Government is committed to uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). We do this through our position at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora as well as raising FoRB bilaterally with the Government of Nigeria and other influential parties. This includes advocating for the protections of all vulnerable communities including religious minorities. The UK also supports programmes working to address the complex root causes of intercommunal violence in Nigeria through locally led peace-building efforts. This support aims to reduce intercommunal tensions by improving access to security and justice, and natural resource management in specific areas across northern Nigeria. In addition, the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership (SDP) works with Nigeria's security forces to tackle violence against all civilian communities, including those of different religious backgrounds and beliefs.

What steps he is taking to help protect the chemical industry from (a) site closures and (b) job losses.

The chemicals sector underpins almost all manufacturing in the UK and is fundamental to maximising growth and productivity across the economy to drive forward the government’s missions, including delivering growth for all. Reforms are underway to address planning barriers to growth, channel finance towards growth priorities and accelerate the transition to net zero.This will be supported by our modern Industrial Strategy which will implement targeted policy interventions to drive long-term sustainable, inclusive and secure growth.Last autumn’s Budget announced continued support for Energy Intensive Industries – including chemical companies - through £350M of additional funding across the next two years.

What discussions she has had with her international counterparts on tackling human trafficking.

Responsibility for modern slavery and human trafficking sits within the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls' portfolio in the Home Office.Modern slavery is a global crime and the Government is committed to working with international partners to tackle it.In September 2024, the Minister met the (now former) US Ambassador to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons to discuss the Government's modern slavery and humans trafficking priorities. The Minister has also met senior representatives from the Council of Europe's Group of Experts on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings during their evaluation visit in December 2024.The UK has close relationships with Governments from other countries, including Albania, Vietnam and Romania, to address shared priorities on modern slavery. Partnerships with these countries are maintained through regular senior official engagement and deliver initiatives to prevent modern slavery, improve law enforcement cooperation and support effective reintegration of victims so they can rebuild their lives.

Media and Sport, if she will make representations with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development to her French counterpart on the impact of the hijab ban in sports in France on freedom of religion or belief.

Sport must be open to everyone. The UK will continue to champion freedom of religion or belief for all, both at home and abroad. No one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in.The Government expects sports bodies in the UK to take robust action to tackle discrimination whenever and wherever it occurs. The Government will continue to work with National Governing Bodies and sector organisations to fight all forms of discrimination at all levels of sport.We are working to uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief through our positions at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora and in our important bilateral work. Ministers regularly engage with their French counterparts on a broad range of issues.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support freedom of religion or belief for athletes.

Sport must be open to everyone. The UK will continue to champion freedom of religion or belief for all, both at home and abroad. No one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in.The Government expects sports bodies in the UK to take robust action to tackle discrimination whenever and wherever it occurs. The Government will continue to work with National Governing Bodies and sector organisations to fight all forms of discrimination at all levels of sport.We are working to uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief through our positions at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora and in our important bilateral work. Ministers regularly engage with their French counterparts on a broad range of issues.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce chronic obstructive pulmonary disease mortality.

Respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are a clinical priority within the NHS Long Term plan and the National Health Service is investing in the provision of more and better rehabilitation services for respiratory patients. This has the objective of improving outcomes for people with COPD through early diagnosis and increased access to treatments. NHS England has established 13 Respiratory Clinical Networks across the country. These have been vital in providing clinical leadership for respiratory services and supporting services in primary care, including restoring spirometry, which is one of the tests used to diagnose COPD.The NHS RightCare COPD pathway has been rolled out nationally and defines the optimal service for people with COPD. Furthermore, the National Respiratory Audit Programme aims to improve the quality of care, services, and clinical outcomes for patients with asthma and COPD, by collecting and providing data on a range of indicators and pulmonary rehabilitation activity.A national programme of work is underway to support systems with improving access to pulmonary rehabilitation for the eligible population, increase the capacity of provision to reduce waiting lists, and improve the quality and consistency of rehabilitation programmes through accreditation. Pulmonary rehabilitation is effective for people with COPD, improving exercise capacity or increasing quality of life in 90% patients who complete a programme. National Respiratory Audit Programme data shows that the number of people completing pulmonary rehabilitation in 2023/24 exceeded pre-pandemic levels, an important milestone in the post pandemic service recovery objective.NHS England is leading on the development of an approach for COPD management to support the proactive identification and management of rising risk patients in winter, to reduce demand on primary and secondary care. The approach fully aligns with a Neighbourhood Health Service model and includes the identification of rising risk patients, optimisation of care, support, and management, through remote monitoring, and a greater focus on self-management and education, as well as access to strengthened support in the community.The plan is to test and evaluate this approach in four sites this winter, recognising that many other services in the country already implement some of the elements of the approach described, to help inform decisions on winter planning in the future. In Hull and East Yorkshire, one of the selected sites, where this service has been studied in patients following severe COPD exacerbations, patients using this service had significantly fewer emergency department attendances and hospital admissions at three-months, compared with a historical control cohort.

Pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2024 to Question 15751 on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Health Services, when he expects NHS England to finalise the development of their approach for COPD; and when this approach will be made public.

Respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are a clinical priority within the NHS Long Term plan and the National Health Service is investing in the provision of more and better rehabilitation services for respiratory patients. This has the objective of improving outcomes for people with COPD through early diagnosis and increased access to treatments. NHS England has established 13 Respiratory Clinical Networks across the country. These have been vital in providing clinical leadership for respiratory services and supporting services in primary care, including restoring spirometry, which is one of the tests used to diagnose COPD.The NHS RightCare COPD pathway has been rolled out nationally and defines the optimal service for people with COPD. Furthermore, the National Respiratory Audit Programme aims to improve the quality of care, services, and clinical outcomes for patients with asthma and COPD, by collecting and providing data on a range of indicators and pulmonary rehabilitation activity.A national programme of work is underway to support systems with improving access to pulmonary rehabilitation for the eligible population, increase the capacity of provision to reduce waiting lists, and improve the quality and consistency of rehabilitation programmes through accreditation. Pulmonary rehabilitation is effective for people with COPD, improving exercise capacity or increasing quality of life in 90% patients who complete a programme. National Respiratory Audit Programme data shows that the number of people completing pulmonary rehabilitation in 2023/24 exceeded pre-pandemic levels, an important milestone in the post pandemic service recovery objective.NHS England is leading on the development of an approach for COPD management to support the proactive identification and management of rising risk patients in winter, to reduce demand on primary and secondary care. The approach fully aligns with a Neighbourhood Health Service model and includes the identification of rising risk patients, optimisation of care, support, and management, through remote monitoring, and a greater focus on self-management and education, as well as access to strengthened support in the community.The plan is to test and evaluate this approach in four sites this winter, recognising that many other services in the country already implement some of the elements of the approach described, to help inform decisions on winter planning in the future. In Hull and East Yorkshire, one of the selected sites, where this service has been studied in patients following severe COPD exacerbations, patients using this service had significantly fewer emergency department attendances and hospital admissions at three-months, compared with a historical control cohort.

If he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the severe asthma service specification in ensuring eligible severe asthma patients are able to access biologic medicines.

NHS England’s current severe asthma service specification is being revised by the Specialised Respiratory Clinical Reference Group. The revised specification will support the management of patients who require further investigation and treatments, including biological medicines. The specification will also be updated to reference the most recent clinical guidelines such as the British Thoracic Society, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network’s asthma guideline, covering diagnosing, monitoring, and managing asthma in adults, young people, and children. It is expected to improve outcomes for people with asthma and identify early those who require further investigation and treatments, including biologic medicines. Eligibility for biologics is governed by the NICE’s Technology Appraisals, which make recommendations for the National Health Service on whether treatments represent a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources. The NHS in England is legally required to fund NICE-recommended treatments.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce emergency admissions for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are a clinical priority within the NHS Long Term plan and the National Health Service is investing in the provision of more and better rehabilitation services for respiratory patients. This has the objective of improving outcomes for people with COPD through early diagnosis and increased access to treatments. NHS England has established 13 Respiratory Clinical Networks across the country. These have been vital in providing clinical leadership for respiratory services and supporting services in primary care, including restoring spirometry, which is one of the tests used to diagnose COPD.The NHS RightCare COPD pathway has been rolled out nationally and defines the optimal service for people with COPD. Furthermore, the National Respiratory Audit Programme aims to improve the quality of care, services, and clinical outcomes for patients with asthma and COPD, by collecting and providing data on a range of indicators and pulmonary rehabilitation activity.A national programme of work is underway to support systems with improving access to pulmonary rehabilitation for the eligible population, increase the capacity of provision to reduce waiting lists, and improve the quality and consistency of rehabilitation programmes through accreditation. Pulmonary rehabilitation is effective for people with COPD, improving exercise capacity or increasing quality of life in 90% patients who complete a programme. National Respiratory Audit Programme data shows that the number of people completing pulmonary rehabilitation in 2023/24 exceeded pre-pandemic levels, an important milestone in the post pandemic service recovery objective.NHS England is leading on the development of an approach for COPD management to support the proactive identification and management of rising risk patients in winter, to reduce demand on primary and secondary care. The approach fully aligns with a Neighbourhood Health Service model and includes the identification of rising risk patients, optimisation of care, support, and management, through remote monitoring, and a greater focus on self-management and education, as well as access to strengthened support in the community.The plan is to test and evaluate this approach in four sites this winter, recognising that many other services in the country already implement some of the elements of the approach described, to help inform decisions on winter planning in the future. In Hull and East Yorkshire, one of the selected sites, where this service has been studied in patients following severe COPD exacerbations, patients using this service had significantly fewer emergency department attendances and hospital admissions at three-months, compared with a historical control cohort.

Representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to ensure the next Archbishop of Canterbury upholds the values of Freedom of Religion or Belief.

Lord Evans of Weardale KCB DL was appointed by the Prime Minister to be the Chair of the Crown Nominations Committee (CNC) for the See of Canterbury on 16th December: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/appointment-of-chairman-of-the-crown-nominations-commission-for-canterbury-16-december-2024In February and March 2025 the Church of England will undertake an extensive public consultation exercise to inform the CNC's discernment. The consultation will consider the role of the next Archbishop of Canterbury, the mission of the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion, and the gifts, skills, and experience needed in the next Archbishop.Through this consultation, Members of Parliament and the public will be able to submit their views on how the Church of England engages on a wide range of issues—including freedom of religion and belief—and the leadership required from the next Archbishop. Specific details of how to contribute to the consultation are expected to be made available in the next few weeks.Once open, the consultation will be available here: https://www.churchofengland.org/about/governance/archbishops/appointing-new-archbishop-canterbury The bishops of the Church of England frequently raise issues of freedom of religion and belief in the House of Lords, and seek to highlight the need for its protection overseas in their visits and public interventions. The Bishop of Winchester, in 2019 as Bishop of Truro, authored the Independent Review for the UK Foreign Secretary of Foreign and Commonwealth Office Support for Persecuted Christians. The Church also looks forward to working with the newly appointed Prime Ministerial Envoy for Freedom of Religion and Belief

Representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to recognise the positive impact of ecumenical relations with other Christian denominations.

The Church of England is committed to ecumenical partnerships at every level and is seeking to increase its work with others, including newer partnersEcumenical activity in the Church of England is overseen by the Council for Christian Unity (CCU). This is supported by a network of local clergy who act as Denominational Ecumenical Officers (DEOs). Evidence shows that ecumenical partnerships increase the effectiveness of local projects, including food banks, warm spaces, youth work and refugee resettlement. These partnerships reduce duplication and administrative burdens, enable better resource management, provide better support for volunteers, and build stronger relationships across diverse communities. There is some evidence that ecumenical partnerships are becoming significant in the pursuit of racial justice, particularly where unity groups consciously seek wider membership.CCU is currently working with the Church of England’s Data Services unit to study Single Congregation Local Ecumenical Partnerships (SCLEPs). This research should also be available later in the yearThe Church of England works with partners through ecumenical instruments. Churches Together in England (CTE) now has more than 50 member churches and has experienced notable growth amongst Pentecostal and Orthodox members. Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) works with the national ecumenical instruments and member churches, learning from the work of peace and reconciliation on these islands and building on that experience with collaboration on other areas of shared concern. CTBI carried out research in 2024 into the work carried out by churches and charities around Climate Sunday. This research will help in the planning of future projects.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterpart in the new Syrian government on protecting the rights of minority religious communities in Syria.

The Foreign Secretary underlined the importance of an inclusive political process with interim Foreign Minister Al Shaybani during a meeting in Riyadh on 12 January. In December 2024, senior FCDO officials met with the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the interim Foreign Minister. They highlighted the need to protect the rights of all civilians, including religious minorities. We are closely monitoring the treatment of ethnic and religious minorities. No one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. We will continue to advocate for the right of Freedom of Religion or Belief in Syria and for an inclusive political transition.

How many people have been arrested for using forged passports at airports in the last 12 months.

The Home Office publishes statistics on detected irregular air arrivals to the UK in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK’ statistics release, available at:Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UKWe do not hold central data on the number of people arrested for using forged passports at airports, and the figures could only be obtained for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

What steps his Department is taking to improve the diagnosis of primary biliary cholangitis (a) overall and (b) in women.

The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, including non-genetic rare diseases such as primary biliary cholangitis. The UK Rare Diseases Framework sets out four priorities, collaboratively developed with the rare disease community, to help patients get a final diagnosis faster, increase awareness of rare diseases amongst healthcare professionals, better coordinate care, and improve access to specialist care, treatment, and drugs. All four nations of the United Kingdom have published action plans setting out how these priorities will be delivered. We remain committed to delivering under the framework and will publish our fourth annual England action plan in 2025, which will report on progress. Actions include research to improve our understanding of the diagnostic journey and the development of innovative digital resources, making information on rare conditions easily available to healthcare professionals, including general practitioners. Continued development of educational resources through the NHS England Rare Disease Education Hub is helping to increase health care professionals’ awareness of rare conditions.

What steps her Department is taking to encourage people with physical illnesses to work from home.

Backed by £240m investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched on 26 November will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate. As part of the Get Britain Working plans the Government is launching Keep Britain Working, an independent review into the role of UK employers in reducing health-related inactivity and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces. Appropriate work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. We want people to avoid poverty, and for this to happen we must ensure that disabled people and people with health conditions have the opportunity to work and save for as long as they wish and are able to. Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. Through the Employment Rights Bill we are taking steps to improve the Right to Request Flexible Working so that an application is only refused if it is not reasonably feasible. Flexible working can include home working. Employers play a key role in increasing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, to thrive as part of the workforce. Our support to employers includes increasing access to Occupational Health, and the Disability Confident scheme. We also have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems. Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care.

If she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the number of school children that are in absolute poverty.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.This government is committed to tackling child poverty as part of our mission to break down the barriers to opportunity for every child. Child poverty has increased by 700,000 since 2010, with over four million children now growing up in low-income families. This not only harms children’s lives now, but it also damages their future prospects and holds back our society and economy.The Ministerial taskforce on child poverty, which met for the first time on 14 August, will drive forward action across government to reduce child poverty by developing and publishing a long-term strategy later this year. Further details on the taskforce can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-child-poverty-developing-our-strategy.The Child Poverty Taskforce recognises families' ability to afford essentials as a fundamental aspect of child poverty. Addressing absolute poverty is a core focus of the work being developed through the child poverty strategy.Additionally, we are taking steps to reduce the cost of living, including extending the Household Support Fund, taking action on the high cost of branded school uniforms, and our commitment to rolling out free school breakfast clubs for primary school age children from April this year.

What plans his Department has to improve patient care for (a) primary biliary cholangitis and (b) other non-genetic rare diseases.

The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, including non-genetic rare diseases such as primary biliary cholangitis. The UK Rare Diseases Framework sets out four priorities, collaboratively developed with the rare disease community, to help patients get a final diagnosis faster, increase awareness of rare diseases amongst healthcare professionals, better coordinate care, and improve access to specialist care, treatment, and drugs. All four nations of the United Kingdom have published action plans setting out how these priorities will be delivered. We remain committed to delivering under the framework and will publish our fourth annual England action plan in 2025, which will report on progress. Actions include research to improve our understanding of the diagnostic journey and the development of innovative digital resources, making information on rare conditions easily available to healthcare professionals, including general practitioners. Continued development of educational resources through the NHS England Rare Disease Education Hub is helping to increase health care professionals’ awareness of rare conditions.

What steps he is taking to increase (a) awareness and (b) understanding of primary biliary cholangitis among (i) general practitioners and (ii) other healthcare professionals.

The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, including non-genetic rare diseases such as primary biliary cholangitis. The UK Rare Diseases Framework sets out four priorities, collaboratively developed with the rare disease community, to help patients get a final diagnosis faster, increase awareness of rare diseases amongst healthcare professionals, better coordinate care, and improve access to specialist care, treatment, and drugs. All four nations of the United Kingdom have published action plans setting out how these priorities will be delivered. We remain committed to delivering under the framework and will publish our fourth annual England action plan in 2025, which will report on progress. Actions include research to improve our understanding of the diagnostic journey and the development of innovative digital resources, making information on rare conditions easily available to healthcare professionals, including general practitioners. Continued development of educational resources through the NHS England Rare Disease Education Hub is helping to increase health care professionals’ awareness of rare conditions.

What steps she is taking to tackle anti-semitism in schools.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The government has committed £7 million of funding to tackle antisemitism in education in the wake of the unacceptable rise of antisemitism across the country. £500,000 of this has already been awarded to the University Jewish Chaplaincy to continue providing welfare support for Jewish students on our university campuses.A £4.35 million Tackling Antisemitism in Education procurement closed for tender applications on 16 January 2025, these are due to be evaluated. This procurement seeks to equip staff from across England’s educational settings with training and resources to build confidence to identify and deal with incidents of antisemitism.​The remaining funding will go towards a future Tackling Antisemitism in Education innovation fund to help tackle and build resilience to antisemitism and hate, focusing on how to identify and appropriately tackle mis- and disinformation. Further details on the innovation fund will be provided in due course.The department’s Educate Against Hate website provides schools, teachers and pupils with a vast range of accessible resources that are reviewed and updated to build resilience and awareness to extremism. Educate Against Hate has a dedicated page to antisemitism which features online resources and educational material, including provided by the Community Security Trust.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of aid sent to Ukraine to help track down Russian war criminals.

The UK has provided £10.7 million in aid supporting Ukraine's domestic work to document, investigate, and prosecute war crimes. This includes launching the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group in May 2022 in partnership with the EU and US, to ensure our donor support to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine is coordinated and targeted at areas where Ukraine most needs to develop its accountability efforts. Support from the UK has equipped Ukrainian prosecutors and law enforcement officials with vital open-source information gathering skills, allowing them to effectively collect evidence and build comprehensive legal cases against alleged war criminals.